The 395 and Owens Valley-Eastern Sierra Region

McGee Mountain Road

 

I made it half way up that one day, then the lightning came, my wife said "no" and we went down...very fast.

 

Been wanting to go there.

 

Do it! Be warned that the road is a bit of a mind F. When you get up there, it becomes abundantly clear that if you left the road, you'd roll forever, breaking up into tiny little pieces (see: Space Shuttle). If you're not a fan of heights, it wouldn't be fun.

 

You can message him on ig @brentunderwood

 

Yes, very nearly did that a few years ago on that road. The snow at Mammoth was atrocious that March so we decided to go look for snow for the dog to play in instead of skiing.

The first snow drift we ran across, I thought I'd be fine (I had just bought the truck a few years ago and thought myself invincible). My girlfriend even said "babe, we can stop here" and I said something dumb like " I have 4 wheel drive, this'll be a piece of cake". This was my very first lesson in tires, as I had the factory supplied street rubber on the truck.




Sure enough, I got stuck in this dumb patch of snow. Tried digging, etc. Didn't have any recovery gear other than a tow strap and shovel- even maxtrax would have helped somewhat. Instead of moving forward or backward, the truck kept inching off to the side of the trail, until it threatened to roll off.

We hiked back with an older couple who had parked further down and they gave us a ride back to the 395 so I could get enough reception to call around. AAA was fully booked and not interested in picking up my call (even though I described my location as a "dirt parking lot" ). Finally was able to get ahold of Bill's Towing in Bishop.

Several hours passed before he was able to get up McGee cemetery (where we were). He saw my truck using binoculars and I rode with him while my girlfriend (who was totally thrilled at this point) and dog waited at the cemetery. A storm started blowing in on our way up. Nothing crazy but flakes were flying, temps were dropping and the daylight was waning.

He pulled up behind my truck on the high side and winched it back onto the trail. It's such a narrow shelf road that we had to ride backwards until the next switchback. Finally was able to get back to the highway and meet him back in Bishop to pay him. It was an expensive lesson (the recovery would have easily paid for a nice set of all-terrains) but still cheaper than rolling the truck. Learned my lesson about tires that day.

 

Awesome story. re cost for recovery. A friend calls this sort of thing "a stupid tax" -- I have paid many different kinds of stupid taxes over the years.

 

Not worried about shelf roads unless I encounter another vehicle.

As far as snow/ice drifts go, I don't mess with them.

 

Thank you! That's perfect.
I will check with him before I head up.

 

Made it this far today to the first impassable snow drift, and a bit windy up here too..

 

Where's this? Laurel?

 

Amazing these days where I'm able to get 4G..

Edit: I sometimes had 1 bar at the Roof Top Cabin Lastnight as well

 

Somewhere in between Reward Mine and Mazourka Canyon Road..

Gail Force winds making brown out conditions, barely moving at 3 - 5 mph


Owens Valley is currently one giant dust bowl..

 

Yes it is. I can’t see mountains on either side of the valley.
Might have a power outage this evening.

 

Strange. It's 72 and calm inside my house. lol

 

Weird, buddies in Mammoth said its cold and Windy.

 

I literally meant inside my house. lol

It's threatening rain outside. Which better happen. About an hour ago my wife asked me if I could water the garden. I looked outside and said nature would take care of it. So, it either rains or I have to water the damn garden in the dark lol

 

I rarely watch tv anymore but happened to catch Running Wild with Bear Grylls the other night. I noticed some very familiar areas in the show that a lot of us here are aware of. I laughed as they stated they were located in a remote location in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Did anyone else see the same show?

 

I saw that. That show is rigged. Well, maybe it’s better to say he has a crew.

and he admits it.

 

Does anyone know of you can drive to the summit of Mammoth in the summer?

I will be there this August and would love to hang out at the summit bar/restaurant, but my passenger is absolutely unwilling to ride the gondola.

I see a clear path on satellite maps, but it doesn't appear in the MVUM.